Once completed, the estimated $6 million facility — excluding land, with a specific site still to be determined — will add luster to an area that has been undergoing a renaissance in the past several years.

The American Tennis Association facility, which will also house a Black Tennis Hall of Fame, also will bring national attention to the area, with famed tennis star Venus Williams designing the interiors. Williams' Jupiter-based company V*Starr Interiors is partnering with the United States Tennis Association on the facility's interior design.

"Having the ATA home being built right here at home in South Florida was the perfect opportunity to be involved in a positive way in such a historic association," Williams said in an email. "It's fantastic that it has come full circle for me, being involved in the design as well as benefiting from the influence that the ATA has had over the years."

Palm Beach Gardens-based Williams, 33, and her tennis-pro sibling Serena Williams, 31, are each multiple major-championship winners. South Florida is also home to another top black female tennis star, Plantation's Sloane Stephens, a 20-year-old who is now ranked No. 16 in the world.

While planning for the project is in its preliminary phases, the ATA's goal is to have it built and ready in time for its 100th anniversary in 2016, a tourism official said. The association plans to unveil the site plan and renderings Aug. 1 during its 96th national championship amateur tennis tournament program in Fort Lauderdale, which kicks off Sunday and runs through Aug. 3.

A decision on the site's final location isn't expected until after its Fort Lauderdale event, an ATA official said. At least one possible site has already been identified along West Broward Boulevard near the Strayer University campus, a city spokeswoman said recently.

Plans call for the new headquarters and training center to be built on land near or within the Sistrunk Boulevard/Northeast Sixth Street corridor, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

"Having a year-round tennis training facility with the Venus Williams label will put us on the map in a big way," said Albert Tucker, the CVB's vice president multicultural business development, who's spearheading efforts to boost black tourism county-wide and in the Sistrunk area.

The training center will be open to the public as well as ATA members and will feature 13 tennis courts, including a 1,000-seat center-court stadium, plus office space and exhibit space, according to a preliminary facility overview.

It would be used to train and groom young ATA members into future tennis stars as well as host the majority of the association's annual national tennis championships, among other events.

"The city is pleased that the ATA wants its permanent home in Fort Lauderdale and we will continue to work with the CVB to locate the most appropriate site for such an illustrious and historic organization," spokeswoman Petula Burks said.

In the last decade efforts have been underway to revitalize Sistrunk Boulevard, which was a thriving business district in the 1960s, but gradually much of the street fell derelict as black middle class families moved out after integration.

In recent years, new business plazas and shopping centers have risen up in the area and beautification projects in large sections of the historic corridor have included landscaped medians, decorative street lights, new sidewalks and bus shelters.

In April 2012, the Urban League of Broward County opened its $9 million Community Empowerment Center on Northwest 27th Avenue near Sistrunk Boulevard. The area is also home to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, which houses special collections of books, artwork, artifacts, photos and other documents that spotlight black culture and history.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB expects the ATA tennis training facility to be a key tourism draw and an economic engine for the area.

People of color make up almost a quarter of the 12 million visitors to the area annually, CVB data shows.

"We're going to have a terrific marriage and relationship with the ATA," CVB President Nicki E. Grossman said. "So everybody get ready for a lot of love (to use a tennis term) in Greater Fort Lauderdale."

The ATA facility is likely to provide an outlet for area youth as recreational facilities such as the Rev. Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park along Sistrunk Boulevard currently don't have tennis courts.

"It seems like a worthwhile project," said Dan West, director of the Broward County Parks & Recreation Division, of the proposed ATA tennis training center.

Tucker was instrumental in bringing the ATA national championships to Fort Lauderdale in 1997 as executive director of the group. Since then it's been held here in 1998 and 2012.

"Fort Lauderdale had the largest [attendee] draws and attracted the biggest support when we've had tournaments there," ATA President Dr. Franklyn Scott said. "Fort Lauderdale seemed to be the perfect area for a permanent home and training facility."

This year, more than 3,000 adult and youth tennis players and their families are expected in town for the ATA's championship games that offer more than 50 competitive categories for players 8 to 80 years old.

On average, with 2,000 to 3,000 in attendance Tucker estimates the economic impact of ATA's weeklong national championships program to be in excess of $5 million annually, which includes spending on hotel rooms and rental cars.

The adult and junior tennis tournaments will be held at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center inside Fort Lauderdale's Holiday Park. Host hotels are the B Ocean Fort Lauderdale and Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Airport North.

"It's sold out," said B Ocean's Director of Sales Stephen Donahue of the ATA's resort block of 1,000 room nights. "This is a great conference to have in July/August. It's typically a slower time for us."